Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Fluid dynamics

Smart polymer solutions

Nature volume 405, pages 745–747 (2000)Cite this article

The proverbial water stays off a duck's back because the duck has waxy water-repellent layers on its feathers. Similarly hydrophobic layers on the surface of most leaves ensure that raindrops bounce or roll off them1. This is sometimes known as the Lotus effect — after the leaves of the Lotus flower, which are particularly hydrophobic — and makes it easier for rain to wash away dust and dirt and keep the foliage healthy2. But these same waxy layers can have less desirable consequences: for example, they cause droplets of herbicide and pesticide sprays to bounce off plants3. As a consequence, over 50% of these toxic sprays are wasted, making it difficult to protect crops and meet environmental regulations.

On page 772 of this issue, Bergeron and co-workers4 show that by adding low concentrations of long, flexible polymers to water droplets, they can prevent the droplets from bouncing off hydrophobic surfaces. As well as showing how plants could be more effectively sprayed, the work has applications in other areas, such as the efficiency of water-based inks or paints to coat water-repellent surfaces. In this case, polymer additives would eliminate the unwanted side effects associated with the use of noxious organic solvents, which wet such surfaces more readily.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: How to save on weedkiller.

References

  1. Neinhuis, C. & Barthlott, W. Ann. Bot. 79, 667–677 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Barthlott, W. & Neinhuis, C. Planta 202, 1–8 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Wirth, W., Storp, S. & Jacobsen, W. Pest. Sci. 33, 411– 422 (1991).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Bergeron, V., Bonn, D., Martin, J. Y. & Vovelle, L. Nature 405, 772–775 (2000).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Chandra, S. & Avedisian, C. T. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 432, 13–41 (1991).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Mao, T., Kuhn, D. & Tran, H. AICheE J. 43, 2169–2179 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Bird, R. B., Armstrong, R. C. & Hassager, O. Dynamics of Polymeric Liquids Vols 1 & 2 (Wiley, New York, 1987).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Yerushalmi-Rozen, R., Klein, J. & Fetters, L. J. Science 263, 793– 795 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Yerushalmi-Rozen, R. & Klein, J. Langmuir 11, 2806–2814 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Gyr, A. & Bewersdorf, H. W. Drag Reduction in Turbulent Flows by Additives (Kluwer, London, 1995).

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel

    Jacob Klein

Authors
  1. Jacob Klein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jacob Klein.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Klein, J. Smart polymer solutions. Nature 405, 745–747 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35015645

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35015645

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing